George Eustice MP, visited Habinteg Housing Assocation tenants in Crofty Close, Pool, Redruth, on Friday 22nd June to view their solar panels, installed by Habinteg to help households become more fuel efficient and overcome fuel poverty.
At Crofty Close, Pool, Habinteg has installed panels to 31 properties, giving a significant number of tenants the opportunity to make savings on their fuel bills through the generation of electricity from sunlight. Crofty Close was our pilot scheme, installed approximately 12 months ago.
Mr & Mrs Hosking, who spoke with Mr Eustice about their panels, have been tenants since 1993 and were the first family to move into the scheme. They “Signed on Thursday, got carpets on Friday and moved in on Sunday.”
They live in an accessible bungalow and estimate that they are saving approximately 50% on their bills. As they have a key meter, it easy to see what they are saving; approximately £5-7 per week depending on the season but even in poorer weather they still find that they save money.
They have made some changes to ensure that they are making the most of their panels, using their appliances in the daytime, one at a time to spread their electricity use. They are at home during the day so are able to make full use of their panels. The savings really make a difference to their household as they have regular appointments at the local hospital and their daughter has recently moved back in with them. The money they save from the panels helps pay for the fuel and parking costs for their hospital visits.
Mr Hosking says, "The panels are great. Our family can really do with the savings that we’ve made since we got the panels, but of course everyone can do with saving a bit of money at the moment. It is easy for us to use our appliances in the daytime. We still save money in the winter months and even on rainy days - let's face it we're not getting much of a summer!"
Liz Shore, is a wheelchair user and lives in an adapted bungalow. She needs her heating to be on most of the time, including in the summer months, as she really feels the cold. Her heating is electric and she uses the electric fire in her living room most days.
She is making savings on her bills despite the recent rise in tariffs and the cost of electricity generally and is satisfied that by using her appliances carefully in the daytime, she is seeing a cost-saving benefit. She was excited when she found out that she would be getting solar panels and says, "I was quite amazed."
Sandra White is the only Tenant Representative for Cornwall, advising Habinteg on general tenant issues and getting involved in the organisation’s decision making. She visited Crofty Close to meet George Eustice as she has panels and has done detailed research on how to achieve the biggest savings on her bills.
Sandra says, "With the electricity consumption I did a bit of research. I went on moneysavingexpert.com to the forums to see how others made it worthwhile. Basically I use anything electrical during the day. Washing machine, dishwasher, hot water, anything I used to put on at night for economy 7 I now put on in the day to use daylight power! I’ve also contact my electricity company to check I am on the best tariff for the way I use electicity."
A disproportionate number of disabled people are experiencing fuel poverty. Habinteg Housing Association, a leading provider of homes and services for disabled people, has installed solar panels to 1026 of its properties – one third of its total housing stock – in what is believed to be one of the largest national solar panel installation programmes in the social housing sector.
As specialists in the design and provision of inclusive and accessible homes and services for disabled people, approximately 61% of Habinteg households includes a disabled person. As well as potential savings on electricity for individual households, Habinteg will use the future income from the solar panels for re-investment in other fuel efficiency and energy saving activities.
George Eustice said, “It was really good to see these domestic solar schemes making a difference to people’s lives: bills are cheaper and houses are warmer. It would be good to see other Housing Associations following Habinteg’s lead.”
Head of Asset Management at Habinteg, Mark Simmons-Powell, said:
“We got involved with Solar PV primarily to generate income allowing us to sustain a high quality service into the future, so we were determined to deliver as many panels to our tenants as possible. I am delighted that so many tenants in the Cornwall area will benefit from reduced energy bills as a result of the project, as we know that fuel poverty can be a particular problem for disabled people.”